Boeing Supports U.S. Government Compliance Actions In Subsidy Ruling

9/24/2012 1:43 AM ET

Defense and aerospace giant Boeing Co. (BA) Sunday said it supports the actions that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced today concerning the World Trade Organization's ruling last March on subsidies to the U.S. aerospace sector.

"Boeing fully supports the actions the U.S. government announced today that it has taken to address the relatively small amounts of subsidy that the World Trade Organization identified as inconsistent with its rules. The United States has now complied with the WTO ruling,'' Boeing said.

On December 1, 2011, the EU transmitted a document to the U.S. and the Dispute Settlement Body, or DSB, claiming that the EU had brought its measures fully into conformity with the DSB recommendations and rulings.

The EU notification included a list of 36 "appropriate steps" taken by the EU to bring its measures into conformity with the EU's WTO obligations. After reviewing the notification, the U.S. did not agree with the EU's position that the EU had fully complied with the DSB recommendations and rulings. The U.S. and the EU held consultations on January 13, which failed to resolve the dispute.

Pointing out among others the grants of launch aid/member State financing by the EU member state governments of France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. to Airbus for the A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A330-200, A340-500/600, and A380, on March 30, the U.S. submitted a panel request to review the EU implementation measures in the Airbus case.

Under WTO rules, the U.S. has the option of challenging the EU's claims to have withdrawn any subsidies or eliminated their adverse effects.

Boeing said today that its rival Airbus and its government sponsors have thumbed their noses at the WTO.

''Despite a crystal clear ruling against launch aid subsidies, European governments have continued the practice by providing Airbus with billions of taxpayer euros and pounds for its next new product, the A350...the European governments have yet to remove the very substantial subsidies, including those propping up the A380, which the WTO's ruling in June of last year requires them to do,'' Boeing added.

Boeing urged that the illegal subsidies to Airbus, most importantly the practice of launch aid, must stop. ''The U.S. government remains committed to ending these subsidies, and Boeing fully supports the actions the U.S. government has taken to ending them."

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